Death toll News

Fueled by blustery winds and parched vegetation, two massive fires burning in California both grew overnight, even as exhausted firefighters worked to extend containment lines. Today, the winds are expected to return.

Powerful winds are expected to sweep through California on Sunday, exacerbating three major fires that have killed at least 25 people, destroyed thousands of homes and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.

Katmandu -
Officials say a blizzard and avalanche in Nepal’s Himalayas climbing region have killed at least 20 people, including four Canadians. Dozens more trekkers are said to be missing after the powerful storm hit the region.

With the elements of nature seemingly indifferent to the chaos in its midst, turbulent conditions slide the partially sunken wreckage into deeper waters. The rescue mission resumed on the Costa Concordia after a brief hiatus.

Kano -
Hospital officials say the death toll in the Friday attacks by Boko Haram, in the northern Nigeria city of Kano, has risen to over 150 with some reports quoting 200. These figures make the attacks the deadliest since the group's insurgency began.

Damascus -
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime continues attacks on its citizens, with security forces killing seven more people on Sunday, bringing the death toll in the country since the uprising began last March to at least, 6,275.

According to a new study, the number of pedestrians who have been killed or seriously injured while wearing headphones has tripled in the last six years. The study says that the numbers rose from 16 in 2004 to 47 in 2011.

Japan's National Police Agency has stated that over 10,000 have died after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. As of Saturday there have been 10,151 bodies recovered. That number is expected to rise with about 17,000 people still unaccounted for.

Port-au-prince -
Haiti is in urgent need of supplies, nurses and doctors to slow the rapidly increasing death toll from a raging cholera epidemic that international aid operations are struggling to control, the United Nations' top humanitarian official said.

Jakarta -
As the death toll keeps climbing, from 22 to 200 and now to 343, questions are being raised as to why this happened. Has the elaborate tsunami warning system failed the islands, or is the error with someone who early on revoked the tsunami warning?

While a great number of media still count the deaths in the ex-Tibetan area around Yushu in the 700s, the latest reports speak about local monasteries having already received the bodies of at least 5,000 dead. Does China count Tibetans, or Han only?

Bishkek -
The Kazakhstan Prime Minister will provide humanitarian aid to those affected by the political upheaval in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. The news came as the death toll officially rose to 79.

Communication is down in the capital of Haiti where possibly 100,000 people have died following a devastating earthquake. The quake hit Port-au-Prince just a half hour before darkness came Tuesday evening.